I Don't Want to Grow Up
by The L33t One
Summary: Spike's birthday is coming up, but he's afraid somebody's going to get hurt so he runs away. When Twilight sets out to look for him, she finds feelings that were locked deep inside of her. Spike x Twilight
1. It's All Going to Go Wrong Someday

Twilight Sparkle woke up in the middle of the night when she felt something kicking at her hoofs. Sleepily, she sat up to see what had awoken her. She saw Spike kicking and thrashing in his sleep. He looked like he was having a nightmare. Twilight got worried about him. She shook him genteelly with her hoof. "Spike, hey Spike wake up."

Spike jolted up and screamed. He started panting and looked around the room. He instantly embraced Twilight when he saw her and started crying. "Oh thank Celestia you're ok!"

Twilight returned the hug. "Of course silly, why wouldn't I be?"

Spike cried more. "Everything was good…then it all turned bad…and me…and you…" Tears came down from his eyes and onto Twilight's pelt.

Twilight rubbed his back comfortingly. "Shush, it's ok. It was just a bad dream. Everything's going to be alright. I promise." Spike started to calm down a little. Twilight smiled.

"T-Thanks Twilight." Spike said still crying a little.

"You're welcome. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No…" Spike said. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You don't seem fine."

"Seriously Twilight, I'm fine. Now go to bed." He rolled himself over and closed his eyes.

Twilight nudged Spike with her hoof. "Spike…you know I'm always here if you need me. If you ever need anything, please tell me."

"I know Twilight," Spike said.

"I'm sorry if I'm acting motherly Spike…it's just that I care about you…a lot."

"I know. Now please just go to sleep."

Twilight laid her head down and went to sleep.

The next day Spike woke up and stared at Twilight, who was still asleep. He knew what day was coming up. He wondered if would finally be the one. He knew that it would be coming, but he had always pushed the thought to the corner of his mind. He couldn't ignore it any longer. If that day came…Spike wasn't sure what would happen. He knew that somepony would get hurt. He dreaded that it would be Twilight. He couldn't take that thought. Spike knew what he had to do.

Twilight woke up an hour later. Spike wasn't at the foot of her bed anymore. Twilight smiled; this would make her task much easier. She didn't have time to wonder where he went. She rushed down to Sugar Cube Corner. She found Pinkie Pie at the counter singing to herself while she baked a batch of cupcakes.

"_I'll never stop it no,_" She sung as she put the cupcakes in the oven. _"When I'm through you'll taste rainbows!_" She closed the oven and turned it on. When Pinkie turned around and saw Twilight she smiled. "Oh hey Twilight! What can I do for you today?"

"I need a party." Twilight told her.

Pinkie's eyes shot up as she literally flipped with joy. "OH YEAH! What kind of party do you want?"

"It's Spike's birthday in two days. I was hoping you could through him something big."

"You bet! I'll throw him the biggest birthday party that's ever been thrown by anypony! I'll even make a cake that's shaped just like him! And there'll be purple balloons and green ones too. You know because Spike is purple and green. And I'll hang a big streamer that says _Happy Birthday Spike_. And the letters will look like green flames. You know like the ones that he shoots when he sends your letters to Princess Celestia. And also…"

"Ok Pinkie!" Twilight interrupted while her head spun from all of Pinkie's plans. "I get it. It's going to be a big party."

"I'm sorry Twilight, it's just that I reeeeeaaaaalllllyyy love to throw parties."

"I can see that."

"I'll get started on the cake right now!" Pinkie ran towards the shelves and got down all of the ingredients she needed.

"Ok thanks Pinkie." Twilight said. She left the bakery.

"No problem." Pinkie started mixing cake batter and resumed her singing. "_Don't care what it takes, gonna steal your heart and bake it into my cakes!_"

Twilight smiled as she walked down the streets. "Ok so Pinkie's gonna take care of the party. Next I need to buy Spike a gift." She thought for a second on what Spike would want. She knew that for a party this big, gems wouldn't cut it. "Now what does he want more than anything in the world?" She took a minute to ponder this. "There is no way that Rarity would ever do THAT." She said with a chuckle. "But I can't think of anything else that he'd want. Maybe…I could do it for him…" Her face turned bright red at that thought. "No! Why the heck am I thinking that?" But she couldn't think of a different gift. "I'll use it as a last resort. Maybe I should ask him what he wants."

She went back to the tree house. "Hey Spike," She called as she entered. No reply. "Spike? Spike you home?" Still no reply. She looked all around the house but couldn't find Spike anywhere. "Odd, he almost always tells me whenever he leaves." She went down into her library. On the table in the corner she noticed a scroll similar to the ones that Spike sent to Princess Celestia with the words _To Twilight_ written on it. She picked the scroll up a read it.

_Dear Twilight,_

_I'm sorry but I'm afraid I can no longer stay with you. It's not you, it's me. I'm growing older every day and I'm getting close to a point I never want to happen but unfortunately is impossible to prevent. It's for the best that I leave Ponyville forever. By the time you read this I will be far away. Don't worry about me. And please don't come looking for me. I promise you I'm going to be just fine. I really enjoyed being your friend. But this is goodbye forever._

_-Spike_


	2. Find My Assistant

Twilight read the scroll five times over to make sure she had read it correctly. She couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true. She rushed out of her tree house and all the way back to Sugar Cube Corner. She burst through the door and shouted into the kitchen.

"PINKIE!" Twilight screamed. "Get out here!"

Pinkie walked out of the kitchen covered in frosting and singing. "_Once you take a nap, you'll fall right into my trap. When I kidnap you, you don't wanna know what I'll…_" But she was cut short when Twilight shoved the letter from Spike into her face.

"TELL ME THIS IS JUST SOME CRUEL PRANK YOU AND SPIKE ARE PLAYING ON ME!" Twilight shouted with tears in her eyes.

Pinkie read the letter and gasped. "Oh Celestia! Even I don't go this far."

Twilight broke down crying on the counter. "Oh Celestia, he's really gone! Why did he leave?"

"Maybe he didn't. Maybe he's just playing hide and seek."

Twilight shoved the letter Pinkie's face again. "Does this look like a game of hide and seek to you? Damn it Pinkie this is no time to be silly!" She cried even more.

"Twilight I'm sorry…but please don't cry. Crying doesn't solve problems you know. Mommy always told me that you shouldn't be crying when you could be trying. Like this one time when Gummy got lost I started to cry. But then I remembered Mommy's words and I sang a song and…"

"SHUT UP YOU STUPID SCATTERBRAIN!" Twilight shouted. "SINGING ISN'T GOING TO BRING SPIKE BACK!"

Pinkie stood speechless for a second, and then ran into the kitchen crying.

Twilight felt like a jerk. She walked into the kitchen after Pinkie. She was curled up crying in the corner. Her mane had also lost all of its puff. "Pinkie…" Twilight said.

"Go away…" Pinkie said while still crying.

"Pinkie I'm sorry for yelling. I'm just really upset that Spike ran away." Pinkie kept on crying. Twilight wrapped her arms around Pinkie comfortingly. "Come on Pinkie. You said that crying won't solve anything."

Pinkie turned around and hugged back. "Yeah but sometimes it's good to let it all out. I can tell you've got a lot stuck inside you Twilight. Come on, let it all out." Twilight let out the rest of her tears onto Pinkie. "Good. Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah." Twilight opened her eyes and saw that Pinkie's mane had returned to normal.

"That's great. I'm sorry for being silly. You're right Twilight, we really need to focus on finding Spike. Come on, I'll get the mares and we'll all search for him together."

In a matter of minutes, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity were all at Twilight's house and brought up to speed on the situation.

"Don't worry Egghead." Rainbow Dash said. "I'll find Spike. I can circle Equestria in less than a day. Finding one purple dragon shouldn't be hard at all!" She took off into the air and zoomed away.

"And I'll ask the animals if they've seen him." Fluttershy shyly said before she left to the forest.

"Pinkie and I will search Ponyville to see if we can find any clues on where Spike might have gone." Rarity said.

"You can count on us!" Pinkie said excitedly. She ran through Ponyville and started to search every nook and cranny; even in bazaar places such as trashcans and under somepony's hat.

"You got anything that belongs to Spike on you right now?" Applejack asked.

"I have the letter he gave me." Twilight said. "Why do you ask?"

"'Cause Winona could use its scent to find him."

"You really think so?"

"Sure. Winona has the best nose in all of Equestria." The two mares went back to Sweet Apple Acres and called Winona. Twilight showed her Spikes letter, which she sniffed all over. Then she sniffed the air, barked, and ran off. "Follow that collie!" Applejack shouted. And with that, the search for Spike was on.


	3. Please Forget About Me

Winona was hot on Spike's trail. She darted straight through Ponyville with no signs of slowing down. Then the two mares found themselves climbing a mountain after the colie. Wherever Spike had gone, it was far from Ponyville.

"Hey Applejack," Twilight called. "Can we take a break?"

"Sure. Heal Winona!" Winona came to a halt on a large, flat ledge. Applejack and Twilight sat down to catch their breath. Applejack looked at Twilight. "Uh hey Twi, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Well…did you stop to consider that there might be a reason Spike ran away?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well if I know Spike, he wouldn't up and leave Ponyville without good reason. Especially when you are Rarity are there."

"I guess…But whatever the problem is I'll do whatever it takes to fix it!"

"But what if it can't be fixed? What if running away was the right thing to do?"

"Don't say that!" Twilight shouted with tears in her eyes. "Whatever's the matter I'm going to take care of it! Spike is my best friend and I can't..."

"It's more than friendship isn't it?"

"What?"

"You like him as more than just a friend don't you Twi?"

Twilight blushed. "I don't know…he's always been there for me. He's a great assistant and an absolute joy to be with."

"And I'm sure he feels the same about you."

"But…I'm a pony and he's a dragon. I'm not sure if I can love him."

"It's alright if you do. There is nothing at all wrong with loving a dragon. There are interspecies relationships allover Equestria. One of my cousins is even married to a gem hound."

"But he's grown up thinking of me as a big sister, maybe even a mother. I'm not sure if he would be comfortable knowing how I feel about him."

"Twi, if he was a true friend he wouldn't hate you if you told him that. He doesn't have to like you back, but a true friend like Spike would understand."

"Really?"

"Yes. That's what true friendship is all about. Even if you were to tell me right now that you like me I wouldn't mind in the slightest. But granted I'm straight so I wouldn't like you back…" Both the mares laughed.

"Thanks Applejack." Twilight said as she stood up. "Come on, let's go find Spike."

"Winona, fetch!" Applejack shouted. Winona jumped up and started going after Spike again. The three climbed up the mountain side at a fast rate. They finally reached a cave that Winona stopped at the mouth of and started barking. "He's in here."

Twilight nodded. "Thanks Applejack."

"Do you want us to wait out here?"

"Yes please."

"Alright just holler if you need any help."

Twilight nodded and she slowly walked into the cave. It was pretty straight forward and had no twists or turns. When she got to the end of the cave she found Spike sitting and eating gems.

Spike gasped when he saw Twilight. "Twilight?"

"SPIKE!" Twilight shouted as she ran and hugged him. "DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN!" She started to cry.

"What are you doing here?" Spike said trying to break free. "I told you not to look for me."

"Like hay I wouldn't! Oh Celestia I was so worried about you!"

"Twilight, please just leave."

"No way! Spike you scared me have to death when I read your note! I don't care what's wrong Spike, I'll fix it!"

"You don't understand Twilight; I'm going to hit a growth spurt soon. I'll grow into a full grown dragon and probably a monster too! I can't tell you how I know…I just do. It happens to all dragons my age. And when I do that…I'm afraid I'll hurt somepony! Even more so that it'll be you!"

Twilight help Spike tightly. "No matter what happens to you Spike, no matter what you become, I swear to Celestia, Luna, and on the grave of my mother that I'll help you!"

Spike pushed Twilight away. "Twilight, it can't be stopped. I looked through all of your spell books; there is nothing that can help me. I'm going to grow up, and probably hurt you…or worse."

"But Spike I can't just leave you on your own! You're my best friend, I can't let you do this to yourself!"

"I'm sorry Twilight, but you're going to have to." He started to cry. "What's going to happen can't be stopped. Please, for you own sake…" He ran towards the cave's entrance. "Forget about me!"


	4. No Matter What, I'm going to Save You

Spike ran as fast as he could through the cave. "I'm sorry." He whispered to himself. He knew that Twilight would never stop trying to help him. In the end it would all be pointless and she would end up hurting herself. Or worse, he might hurt her. He exited the cave and prepared to climb higher up the mountain.

"Just where the hay do you think you're going?" Applejack shouted, causing Spike to fall down. "Ya'll better not be trying to run away from Twilight."

"Applejack just leave me alone!" Spike shouted.

Applejack squatted down and got to eye level with Spike. "Now listen Spike, I know you have a reason for leaving, but did you stop to think how Twilight feels?" Spike tried to talk, but Applejack just kept going on. "She's been worrying her flank off about you."

"I don't care!" Spike tried to make a break down the mountain, but Winona jumped in front of him and growled.

"Now I know that's not true. You care about her just as much as she cares about you."

"I know but if I don't run away I'll hurt her!"

"Spike, I guarantee you that you'll hurt her even more if you do."

Twilight came running out of the cave with tears in her eyes. "Spike!" She shouted. "Please don't leave me!"

Spike started to growl. "Why can't you all just understand that me running away is the only option?"

Applejack rested her hoof on Spike's shoulder. "Cause it isn't. Spike I promise you, whatever the problem is we'll work to fix it."

"I can't be fixed!" Spike shouted.

"Spike, nothing's impossible." Twilight said. "I'll do it! I promise I'll stop you from growing up!"

"DON'T MAKE BUCKING PROMISES YOU CAN'T KEEP!" Spike shouted.

Twilight was petrified. She collapsed and cried uncontrollably.

Applejack scowled. "Ok, now you've done it. I'm going to give you to the count of three to apologize and say you're coming back. One." Spike said nothing. "Two." He remained silent. "Three." Still nothing. "Ok fine. You brought this on yourself." Applejack quickly spun around and bucked Spike in the head. He fell to the ground unconscious.

Twilight gasped and leaped to her hoofs. "APPLEJACK!"

"Relax sugar cube, I didn't hurt him…too much."

"At least now we can bring him back home."

Spike was brought back home and Twilight informed all of her friends on the situation.

"Why that's absolutely dreadful!" Rarity gasped. "How noble of Spike to leave just to protect you. He truly is an extraordinary friend."

"Yeah," Twilight said, not the least bit cheerful. "I'm going to make sure he doesn't have to leave in order to protect me."

"I don't know," Pinkie said. "Being a big dragon might be cool! He could fly around and light pony's houses on fire. He can eat all of the big nasty bad guys and…" Twilight shot a scowl that could freeze the sun at Pinkie. "Sorry…"

Twilight told all of her friends to leave because had a lot of work to do. She walked down to her library. Spike was in the center of the room frozen inside a crystal. This crystal would suspend him in time, stopping his aging process. But he would be unconscious the entire time, and it required Twilight's magic to keep it up.

"I promise," She whispered. "I promise that when you wake up that everything will be ok." She took a book off of the shelves and checked through it.

That day was the last anypony had seen or heard from Twilight. The door to her house never opened. Ponies peered into the windows but couldn't see her. No noises ever came from the house. Every knock at her door was never answered. Her friends grew worried over time. They made attempts to enter her house, but Twilight had put a magic seal on the locks and windows to ensure she had no distractions from her work.

Two weeks passed and there was not a single trace of Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia eventually became worried that she had not received a letter from her student for such a large amount of time. What fueled her fears even more was the fact that every attempt she had made to send a letter was unsuccessful. Her fears grew so strong that she sent Shining Armor to check on her.

Shining Armor's chariot was met with grim glances one it arrived. Whenever he asked somepony if they knew where his sister was, they would nod their head and reply "At her house." So Shining Armor went to his younger siblings house. He tried to open the door but it was locked.

He knocked on the door. "Twilight are you home?" He called. "Twili it's me, Shining Armor. Princess Celestia sent me to make sure you were ok." No response. He examined the door and noticed the magic seal on it. He undid it using his own magic and entered the house. Twilight was not in the main room or her bedroom. He opened the door to the library and slowly descended into the dark room. When he used his horn to illuminate the room, he nearly had a heart attack at what he saw. "TWILI!"


	5. Till the End and Beyond

Spike slowly woke up from his suspended animation. "Oh Celestia," He moaned. "My head." He checked his surroundings. He was in Twilight's library. The entire place was a mess. Books were scattered everywhere, pages torn, quills broken, scrolls crumpled up and tossed everywhere. The stench of pony sweat and rotten fruit was thick in the air. Spike instantly realized that Twilight had been doing all the researching and testing she could have done to help the poor dragon. "I told her it was useless," he mumbled to himself.

Spike ascended the stairs and entered the main room. It was filled with dust and cobwebs, but lacked in ponies. The kitchen was also pony free. He slowly peaked into the bathroom but found his friend wasn't in there. Twilight's room also had contents of zero mares.

The purple dragon began to worry. Where was she? Perhaps she had stepped out to purchase some more supplies for testing. Or maybe something had happened to her. Spike shook his head no. He shouldn't think that.

Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity stood in the doorway to the hospital room with their jaws dropped. They had heard about what happened the previous day but weren't allowed in till today.

Lying on the bed on the opposite side of them was Twilight Sparkle; only she was in the worse state any of them had ever seen. She was so thin that her skeleton could be seen through her skin. Her horn had several cracks in it, as well as her hoofs. She had several IV's in her and an oxygen mask over her face.

"OH GOODNESS!" Rarity exclaimed. "She must have worked herself to death!"

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "She's not dead! She can't be!" She turned to Twilight. "Listen Egghead, I swear to Celestia that if you die I'm going to drag you back with my bare hooves and…and…" She couldn't finish her sentence.

"Girls, I'm here." Fluttershy said as she slowly walked into the room. She had arrived late because she was taking care of a sick rabbit. "How's Twi…" She screamed when she looked at the bed. "Is she…Is she dead?"

"No…" Rarity said grimly. "At the moment she isn't…"

Fluttershy couldn't keep herself from crying. She was quickly embraced by her friends who told her to calm down and everything would be alright.

Then all of them jumped when they heard a moan. "Spike…" Twilight was awake and trying to sit up. "I…have…to…help…" All five of her friend rushed to Twilight and held her back. Her severe weight loss made it easy for them to push her down, but they had to push lightly out of fear that they might hurt her.

"Hold yer horses gal!" Applejack shouted. "You barely have enough energy to keep yourself alive!"

Twilight insistently tried to get up. "Spike…"

"Please stop it!" Fluttershy pleaded. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Doctor!" Rarity shouted. "We need a doctor in here!"

A stallion in a doctor's uniform and Shining Armor dashed into the room.

"Twili!" Shining Armor shouted. "You need to lie down!"

"I…have…to…help…Spike…"

"Nurse!" The doctor shouted. "Sedate her!"

A pegasus nurse rushed into the room and injected a needle into Twilight's arm. The purple unicorn instantly fell backwards onto her bed. All of them sighed in relief.

"Please tell me she's going to be ok doctor." Pleaded Shining Armor.

"We're doing everything that we can." The doctor told him. "It would be best if you all went home. We promise that we'll contact you as soon as we know anything."

The five mares and Shining Armor exited the hospital and found two Royal Guards outside. They informed Shining Armor that he had to return to Canterlot and resumed his duties.

Shining Armor grunted. "I'm going to stay here until my sister gets better." But the Royal Guards insisted that he must return. "Fine…" He said in dismay. The white unicorn boarded his chariot and was flown away.

"Come on," Pinkie said with less than her usual amount of energy. "I bet some cake will cheer us up." They started to make for Sugar Cube Corner when all of a sudden they were approached by Spike.

"Hey," He said. "Have any of you seen Twilight?" None of the mares said anything. Applejack just nudged her head towards the hospital. "Oh my gosh!"

Spike burst through the door to Twilight's room and nearly fainted. "T-T-Twilight?" He ran to her bedside. "Twilight? Are you ok? Twilight? Answer me!" The purple dragon rushed to a doctor who was entering the room. "Tell me she's going to be ok!"

The doctor shook his head. "We not sure. We're surprised she's even alive now. From what we can tell…she's not going to make it through the night."

Spike gasped and dashed out of the hospital. "Damn it!" He said to himself. "This is all my fault. She went this far because of me!" He burst through the door of the tree house and ran down into the basement. "Where is it?" He shuffled through all of Twilight's books till he found the one he was looking for. _Advanced Potion Making_. He franticly flipped through the pages. "I know it's in here. Yes here it is!"

Spike worked as fast and hard as he could for hours making the potion. He had seen Twilight make potions enough time to know how to do it properly. He made so much noise that Applejack and friends went inside to investigate.

"Spike?" Applejack called into the basement. "Ya down here?"

"YES I DID IT!" Spike shouted so loud that the mares jumped. He bolted pass them and out the door.

The five mares went down to investigate his work. They saw the potion book lying out on the table and examined the page it was opened to. They gasped.

_Venom of Life_

_Share it with a pony on the brink of death_

_And be prepared to draw your last breath_


	6. You're the Only Thing That Matters

Spike wasted no time. He rushed through the streets and back to the hospital. He burst inside and ran to Twilight's room. Locking the door behind him, Spike slowly approached her bed. He let out a sigh of relief when he felt she still had a heartbeat. He looked at the two vials of red liquid in his hand and knew that he had to act now. He set one vial down and took the cap off of the other one.

Gently, Spike tilted Twilight's head up and poured the potion down her throat. "Sorry it came to this." He whispered. As he reached for the second vial, Spike noticed that his arm was growing larger. He gasped. He was hitting his growth spurt. But after a second, Spike laughed. "Couldn't have picked a better time to do this." As he uncapped the second vial, Spike heard pounding at the door.

"Spike!" Applejack shouted from behind the door. "Spike I know you're in there! Please don't do it!"

Spike paid no attention to her. He felt his tail start to extend. If he didn't do this soon everypony would get hurt.

"Damn it Spike!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "I know you can hear us! You don't have to do this!"

"If I don't Twilight will die!" Spike shouted. He started to grow taller.

"There must be another way!" Rarity shouted.

"There is no other way. Twilight's like this because she wanted to help me. If she die's it'll be my fault."

"That's how she'll feel if you do this!" Fluttershy said, actually raising her voice. "Don't do it!"

Spike's growth started to accelerate. He knew it was now or never. He put the vial to his lips and chugged it all down. Just as he finished the last drop Applejack kicked down the door. The five mares gasped when they saw the two empty vials.

"SPIKE NO!" Rarity shouted.

Spike and Twilight started to glow bright green. A mist of the same color started to flow from Spike's aura to Twilight. Rarity ran and grabbed Spike's hand.

"Rarity what are you doing?" Spike shouted.

"Twilight taught me a few things about potions." Rarity said confidently. "Girls, grab my hoof now!"

The mares didn't waste any time asking why and grabbed Rarity's hoof. Rarity took a second to concentrate and her horn started to glow blue. Then the green aura around Spike's body extended to the rest of them and mist started flowing from them to Twilight as well.

The aura faded and the six of them started to pant. All of them were still alive, including Spike. They looked at Twilight. Her thin body was beginning to rapidly gain weight. Her horn and hoofs returned to normal. Her breathing rate picked up. She was teaming with life.

"What the hay just happened?" Spike asked in deep confusion.

"That potion you were using works by taking the soul from your body and using it to rekindle a dying one." Rarity explained. "Using a spell Twilight taught me a while back I simply extended the effects to the rest of us. So instead of giving your entire soul to Twilight, we all gave part of our souls to her."

"So she has a little bit of all of us inside her now?" Applejack asked.

A tear of joy fell from Fluttershy's eye. "That's so touching."

Spike was about to thank Rarity, but then realized that since he wasn't going to die, his growth spurt would take full effect. He started to run for the door. "Oh Celestia I got to get out of here!" But then he stopped and took a look at himself. "Huh? I'm not growing? What the heck is going on?" His height was now at eye level with the other mares in the room. His body was slimmer and his tail had grown out.

"Maybe it's because you lost so much of your soul." Fluttershy suggest. "Your body doesn't have the power to grow anymore."

"Maybe that's the case," Spike said. "Or maybe it isn't. I just better leave and…"

Applejack stepped in front of Spike. "Now I can't believe you." She said. "Even after all that you still want to run away? Now listen here, if you run away we're probably going to have a repeat of this whole crazy mess."

"But what if…"

"We'll cross that bridge IF we get to it."

A doctor entered the room. "What the hay is going on in…" He saw Twilight and gasped. "What the hay?" He ran over to her. "Why, she's made a full recovery! In all my years I have never seen anything like this. You all have to leave. I need to examine her."

The five mares left and returned to their business. Only Spike remained in the hospital's waiting room, eagerly waiting to see Twilight. After an hour, a doctor approached him.

"Are you Spike?" He asked.

"Yes." Spike replied.

"Twilight Sparkle is awake and has been asking for you for the past ten minutes."

Spike walked back to Twilight's room. He slowly opened the door. "Twilight?"

"Spike?" Twilight looked up at Spike. "Spike is that you?"

"Yes…"

"Oh Celestia you're growth spurt!" She tried to climb out of bed. "I think I've found something that'll halt your aging but I'm not too sure if it'll…"

Spike ran over and kept Twilight in bed. "It's ok Twilight, everything's ok." He told Twilight what happened while she was unconscious and about Fluttershy's theory.

"Yeah…" Twilight said. "That sounds about right. I can't believe that you were going to use the Venom of Life potion to save me."

"I couldn't let you die Twilight. It was all my fault you were like that. I never should have ran away."

"You just wanted to make sure you didn't hurt me. I'm to blame too. I should have taken better care of myself." The two of them hugged.

After a couple hours Twilight was cleared to leave the hospital. Spike pushed her wheel chair back to their house. He took her upstairs and carefully helped her into bed.

Twilight studied the new Spike. He looked older and more mature. And also, strangely attractive. She felt her heart race. Applejack's words flashed in her head. She took in a deep breath.

"Spike…" She said.

"Yeah Twilight, what is it?"

"I…I…I love you."

Spike jumped. "You what?"

"I love you Spike. I know it's all of a sudden, but it's how I feel about you. If you're uncomfortable with it, I understand. But I just had to…" She was cut short when Spike kissed her. Twilight was so surprised that she pulled away.

"Hey," Spike said. "I thought you love me."

"I do, but I didn't expect that. What about Rarity?"

"What about her? She's pretty, but she's got nothing on you. I've been in love with you longer than I've been love with her."

"Oh my gosj Spike, I never knew you felt that way."

Spike put his finger over Twilight's lip. "None of that matters now." He kissed her again. And this time, Twilight kissed back.

Pinkie opened the door. "Hey Twilight, I was wondering if you still wanted…OH!"

Twilight and Spike jumped. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Twilight shouted more embarrassed than angry.

Pinkie giggled. "Aw I always knew you two would make a cute couple." She pulled a book out from nowhere. "Here, I knew it was a good idea to bring this." She set the book on the bed next to them.

"What is it?" Spike asked.

"Just call it my late birthday gift to you. And you'll probably enjoy it too Twilight." She winked and left the room.

Twilight and Spike both took one look at the cover and blushed madly.

_101 Games for Couples to Play in Bed_

_By: Pinkie Pie_


	7. The Future

Twilight stretched her legs out as she yawned early in the morning. Spike was asleep next to her. Twilight smiled. Spike always looked so cute when he was asleep. She sat up and enjoyed the peaceful morning.

"MOMMY DADDY!" A young colt shouted as he burst through the bedroom door, ending the peace. He jumped up onto the bed and started bouncing up and down. "Happy Family Appreciation Day!"

Twilight laughed. "Take it easy Dusk. Do you want to wake up all of Ponyville?"

Dusk laughed as well. "Sorry." Morning Dusk was Twilight's and Spike's son. His conception made possible by use of Twilight's magic. He was a dark purple unicorn colt with a dragon's tail and yet to find his cutie mark.

Spike yawned as he got up. "Morning Twilight, morning Dusk."

"Good morning Daddy," Dusk said gleefully. "Happy Family Appreciation Day!"

"Happy Family Appreciation Day to you too." Spike said with a smile. He hugged Dusk.

"Hey what about me?" Twilight said playfully. Both the boys hugged her.

"Come on!" Dusk shouted as he ran out the door. "Let's have breakfast and get ready for school!"

Spike and Twilight laughed. They got up and went downstairs. As Twilight was making breakfast, somepony knocked at the door.

"I'll get it." Dusk said as he ran for the door and opened it. "Hello?"

"There's my little man!" Shining Armor said. He picked up Dusk and hugged him.

"Uncle Armor!" Dusk shouted as he hugged back.

"Shining Armor!" Twilight shouted as she ran and hugged her older brother.

"Good to see you Twili."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well you don't think I was going to let Family Appreciation Day go by without coming to visit the best little sister in the world now would you?" Then Shining Armor smiled. "And plus, I thought I should show you the new family members."

Twilight gasped. "You mean?"

"Yep." He turned and looked out the doorway. "Alright sweetie, bring them in."

Cadence, Shining Armor's wife and Twilight's former foalsitter, walked in the house pushing a stroller.

"Oh my gosh!" Twilight ran over and peered inside. Lying asleep were two twin unicorn foals. They both had shinny white fur.

"Twili meet your new nieces Glitter Moon and Sparkle Dust. They were born just last week."

"They're adorable! Dusk come and see them."

Dusk ran up to the stroller and tried to look inside, but he was too short. "I can't see." Spike picked him up. "Thanks daddy." He looked at his new cousins. "Aw." Then he took a closer look at Sparkle Dust. "Hey that one looks a little like mommy."

Cadence smiled. "That's what we said the day they were born.

"Oh no!" Dusk shouted when he looked at the clock. "We're going to be late." He grabbed Twilight by the hoof and ran out the door. "Bye Aunt Cadence and Uncle Armor, we got to go to school now!" The two of them ran all the way to Cheerilee's school house. When they walked in Rainbow Dash was just finishing up her presentation.

"And that's what it's like to be a weather pony." She said. The whole class clapped.

"That's my mommy!" The pegasus Giggle Pie said, hopping up on top of her desk.

"You mean one of them." A teasing filly said.

"Hey!" Giggle Pie shouted. "You better what you say!" Giggle Pie was the daughter of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Since Pinkie mothered her, she had a pink main and curly hair just like Pinkie.

"Girls!" Cheerilee shouted.

"Sorry." The teasing filly and Giggle Pie said in unison.

"Thank you." Cheerilee saw Twilight and Dusk in the doorway. "Oh you're late."

"Sorry." Twilight said. "The family came to visit this morning."

"Oh I understand. I was nearly late myself when some of Big Macintosh's cousins came over to visit. Well it's your turn to speak."

"Thank you." Dusk sat at his desk and Twilight began to speak. "Today I'm going to talk to you about the importance of family. Family is the most important thing in our lives. It's even more important that friendship. You should be grateful for the people you consider your family and who take care of you. No matter who they are, you should always love your family. Whether you a mom and a dad, two mothers, siblings who look after you, or even a parent who's not a pony, your family is the most important thing you have. I hope my words mean something to you." The entire class clapped.

"That was the greatest thing I ever heard!" Dusk shouted as he ran and hugged Twilight. "I love you mommy."

"I love you too Dusk."


End file.
